To Love Somebody

Chapter 9

The night ended with me in Robin's arms as his girlfriend, and Maurice exiting the room as quickly as he came in. But I didn't want to go home at all. 

He looks deep into my eyes thoughtfully. "Rose, what's wrong?" 

"Oh, nothing's wrong- It's just that, I don't really want to go home," I admit, a sheepish look on my face. 

"Oh, is that all? I can fix that. How about we go on a late-night drive? No destination in mind, and just you and me..." 

His offer tempts me, and I did have a lot on my mind. I'm still processing that I'm Robin's girlfriend, and I'm over the moon about it! I couldn't be happier about it too. Simply thinking about that makes me grin like a fool. Except, in the back of my mind, I can't forget about how Maurice reacted. We all know what that means, and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. 

"I would love that," I say, taking his hand. 

He grabs another jacket from the hooks on the wall, which puzzled me because he already is wearing a jacket. I raise my eyebrow at him. 

"I'm giving you the jacket I'm wearing because I know you'll be cold, and it will smell like me. I hope that's okay and not weird. Oh god, that was weird-" I put a finger to his lips. 

"It's not weird, it's sweet. You're already doing a good job at being a boyfriend. Not that I had any doubt in my mind," I come back, taking his jacket and inhaling the scent. 

"Where are you going?" Maurice stands in the doorway from the hall, a tired look in his eyes as if he had been in a deep sleep. 

I winced a little. "We're just going on a late-night drive to have some alone time, and I have had a lot on my mind." I yawned, looking away in the process. 

He nods silently and walks away. Simple as that. 

Robin takes my hand, swinging our arms as we walk to his car. The silence consumed the air between us, as did the cold night air. But it wasn't a bad type of silence, but rather it was the good, comfortable kind. 

His jacket was only slightly too big for me, and the sleeves went past my hands. So, as I sat in the passenger seat of the car, I slid my hands inside of the jacket and inhaled the scent. 

"Enjoying wearing my stuff, love?" he asks with a satisfied grin. 

"Yeah, it's big and warm." I smile tiredly. 

The car's engine revs to life and the headlights shine on the road ahead of us. I glance over at Robin who now has a concerned expression plastered on his face. I wonder if he's thinking about what's bothering me. I can't very well just say that I think Maurice likes me and that it scares me to think of the possibilities. 

I find myself staring at the dashboard ahead of me, unaware of anything else around me. The world fades away and the only thing that broke my stare is Robin's laughter. 

"I'm sorry, it's just that it's fun to watch you stare off into space because I know you're thinking hard about something." But then he stops, and his joyous smile fades into a more serious look. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" 

I can play this one of two ways. I can tell him the truth and face what could happen if he knows. Or, I can play it off like I noticed Maurice acting strange and that it makes me wonder. My stomach churns. 

I face him, and I can tell he's paying attention to me and the road. 

"Wait, before we start talking, let's park here so I can give you my full attention..." He stops the car in a partially empty parking lot and locks eyes with me. The curious look in his eyes tells me to continue. 

I rack my brain quickly as to what I need to say. But in a quick second, I know what I can do. "Well, you remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend, right?" 

He nods. 

"Well, I noticed Maurice in the doorway. I guess he overheard our conversation... Anyway, I saw that he just left so suddenly and I guess it has been bothering me," I admit. 

Ok, maybe I didn't tell him the truth. But the truth is, I don't know what's happening myself. Well, I do and I don't. Everything's so confusing, although I wouldn't go as far as to define this as a "love triangle". Not at all. I felt my cheeks flush, and I began to get concerned. 

"Oh, Rose... I think it's wonderful that you are so concerned about everyone. But I think he'll be okay. Besides, he might have been a little taken aback. But Mo will be okay." He smiles at me and kisses me on the cheek. 

If only he knew what I knew, unofficially of course. 

"Okay..." I mumble, leaning my head on his shoulder. 

With everything going on, I guess I forgot that I was so tired. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks to my chest. 

"Tired, darling?" he asks. 

Wordlessly, I nod with a slight grin. He begins to drive off with my head still on his shoulder. 

As soon as I knew it, I find myself on the couch again with Robin nowhere to be found. Asleep I assume. I was too tired to care, to be perfectly honest. 

Footsteps could be heard from the hallway and I saw Maurice there again with a smile that lit up the darkened room. "Rose, you're back." He seemed tired as well. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Not at all. I guess Robin took me back home and here..." My voice trailed off into the silent house. 

His eyes shifted all around the room, and he sat next to me on the couch. 

"So, you and Robin are official now." Maurice's statement caught me by surprise. 

"Yeah. But I did notice that you heard and kind of, well, ran off," I said with a sheepish grin. 

His eyes went wide and he scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, you saw that?" He paused with a deep breath inwards. "It's nothing, really." 

I knew it wasn't "nothing" like he made it out to be. "Are you sure...?" 

"Nothing you need to worry about. After all, I don't need you worrying about me," Maurice added, looking away with a small smile. 

For a few moments, we were silent. I knew for a fact he was avoiding saying anything about him liking me. I wasn't going to make him say anything because I know he'll come to me. If at all...

"Do you want to watch some tv?" I suggest, trying to change the subject. 

His face changes from somber to gleeful in a matter of seconds. "Sure! I don't know if I'm ready to go to sleep yet." 

I turned the television to something that wasn't too exciting, but I quickly found myself falling back asleep. 

However, as I drifted off to sleep, I unconsciously rested my head on Mo's shoulder. 

As I slept, the thought of Robin consumed my brain. The way he spoke, the way he smiled, and the way he looked at me... Everything. It's a nice way to fall asleep.